Editor's Note This study from the UK finds that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were associated with high short-term protection, but this protection waned considerably after 6 months; whereas, infection-acquired immunity boosted with vaccination remained high more than 1 year after COVID-19 infection. Of 35,768 participants analyzed, 9,488 (27%)…

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Editor's Note This French study finds that contact with COVID-19 patients was not the highest risk of COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs). Of 3,234 HCWs enrolled in the study, 120 (3.8%) contracted COVID-19. The highest risk factors were contact with relatives or other HCWs  with COVID-19. Multivariate analysis showed that…

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Editor's Note This cohort study by researchers at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System and Saint Louis University finds that after the first 30 days of infection, COVID-19 patients have increased risks and burdens of incident diabetes and antihyperglycaemic use. A total of 181,280 COVID-19 patients in the US…

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Editor's Note The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced on March 28 that it had honored a request by Pacific PPE Corp to rescind all of its N95 respirator mask approvals, effective immediately. Respirators with NIOSH approval numbers TC-84A-9278, TC-84A-9299, and TC-84A-9313 will no longer be manufactured,…

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Editor's Note The American Nurses Association and Tennessee Nurses Association, on March 25, released a statement saying that the conviction of a former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse because of a fatal medication error made in 2017 sets a dangerous precedent. In the statement, they said: “We are deeply distressed…

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Editor's Note This multi-center study by cancer centers across the US finds that having cancer and COVID-19 is associated with worse outcomes in Black patients compared with White patients. Of 3,506 patients included in the analysis, 1,068 (30%) were Black and 2,438 (70%) were White. At the time of COVID-19…

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Nurses have the highest incidence of work-related musculoskeletal injuries in the US, and OR nurses have the highest incidence among all nursing specialties. Estimates in the literature say more than 50% report chronic back pain, and 10% must leave their profession entirely because of back injuries. It is also estimated…

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Editor's Note According to a March 4 notice filed by NYC Test & Trace Corps, New York City's (NYC’s) initiative for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, the city is ending universal contact tracing by the end of April, Becker’s Hospital Review March 10 reported. This means that NYC Health +…

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Editor's Note ECRI, on March 14, issued its annual list of Patient Safety Concerns, which is dominated this year by staffing shortages and healthcare workers’ mental health that have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, the top concerns were typically associated with clinical issues caused by…

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Editor's Note Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, inflation, money issues, and the war in Ukraine have pushed US stress to alarming levels, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). APA partnered with the The Harris Poll to conduct a survey between February 7 and 14, 2022, and again…

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